


Think on your Sins

by Lord_Orange



Category: James Bond - All Media Types, Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, John is 007, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-21
Updated: 2017-03-20
Packaged: 2018-10-08 17:04:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10391652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lord_Orange/pseuds/Lord_Orange
Summary: A Johniarty Skyfall AU, with John Watson as James Bond.





	

The bright afternoon sun burned down relentlessly on the dry streets of Athens, but hardly anyone took notice. Most people just went about their business, used to the scorching heat of late August. The streets were busy with tourists, shoppers and all kinds of people, forming a never-ending maelstrom. No one took particular notice of this fellow either, but if they had, they would have noticed a young, unassuming man who looked quite uncomfortable in his suit.

 

His grip on the Sig Sauer tightened slightly as he pushed his body forward. Moving with the crowd, rather than parting it and risking detection.

 

Bodies pressed close, making it harder to navigate and keeping an eye on his target. Having a gun out in the open in broad daylight amidst a crowd of people might have once been considered risky but who actually took notice nowadays?

 

The proximity of warm bodies paired with the dry summer heat of Athens made him sweaty and he felt increasingly uncomfortable in his own skin.  
The midday heat had passed its zenith a few hours ago, but the general temperature of Greece in August was hardly comfortable for a Westerner.

 

Keeping an eye on his mark he stifled a groan as he pushed forward.  
For the better part of the afternoon he had been following his target around the city, always on the brink on detection.  
John was just glad that he looked unassuming enough to spite even the most inconvenient counter surveillance tactics.

 

The mission would have been so much simpler during the wee hours of night, _cooler too,_ he thought. Pushing back a strand of hair, he kept his gaze focused on his target. His gun was in a tight grip, pointing downwards, half obscured by his jacket.

 

Their intel, as it had turned out, had been faulty at best. The mark was never supposed to take a leisurely afternoon walk across the city, but here they were and John waited patiently for a convenient opening.

 

“Report, 007. What is going on at your end?” M’s voice suddenly sounded through his earpiece, almost startling the agent.  
“We’re still on a lovely stroll in the city”, John answered softly, as not to raise any suspicion.  
“If you’d just give me the permission to pickpocket…” he started only to be interrupted by an indignant M.

 

“We have been over this. You need to take him out and secure the hard drive he so conveniently is taking around. Getting too close too soon is _still_ a security risk. We can’t trust the information about his security measures…so far it’s been botched up enough.”

 

During M’s rant, his mark had turned around a corner and John hurried to follow.  
“He’s sitting down at a café” he informed M through his earpiece.  
A short pause, then “Do you have a clean shot?”

  
John snorted a laugh. “Not really, there’s a lot going on.” M didn’t grace his insolence with an answer.

 

Lurking just around the corner John couldn’t help the annoyance creeping up on him.  
While his mark had settled down for iced coffee he could do nothing more than to wait.  
He holstered his gun and tried to settle into what he assumed would be a very long stakeout.

 

Around him the crowd slowly began to thin out and the shadows grew longer. John leaned back against the wall, obscured by a street vendor, his gaze still fixed on his target. For a brief moment he considered chatting up M, but the memory of what had happened last time was still too fresh in his memory.

 

Being the head of the MI-6, M hardly took over as a handler during missions, but when he did, it were mainly John’s missions. This was in no way favouritism, but due to John’s blatant refusal to take orders he considered _stupid._

 

So, when a mission, such as this one, was on the verge of going tits up, M usually stepped in and guided John through most catastrophes. At least him John trusted and respected enough not to go on a rampage almost instantly. Of course he had tried that more than once, but M would take away his privileges and so John grudgingly relented…at least a bit.

 

Trying to involve M in petty small talk however, that was just an outright bad idea. Something John had learned the hard way. During one of his missions guided by M he had shared the details of his latest honeypot mission with his boss, who had endured it with stoic silence.

 

When John had returned to London he had found that all traffic lights on his way home had been red and that his favourite Chines take-out joint had closed over night. After that he had abstained from chatting M up again.

 

Finally, after what seemed like ages, his mark was on the move again.

 

“We’re moving” he mumbled, well aware that his movements would register in London regardless of his statement, due to the tracker in his pocket.

 

“Next time I want a more chatty handler, M” he grinned, as he started to follow his target at a safe distance.

“What you want, 007, is to concentrate on the task at hand”, M sounded almost bored over the earpiece and John could detect a faint sound of rustling pages.

 

They were now turning into a quieter neighbourhood and John had to make sure to further their distance. “This is a mess. You should have let me break into the hotel”, he muttered under his breath.

“I will not repeat myself, agent”, came the crisp answer.

 

John was about to respond but realised, almost too late, that his target had stopped in front of a very nice looking house. Reflexes taking over, he rushed over to the closest nook, hiding from the other man.

 

Unaware of his shadow, the mark had rung the doorbell and was now waiting patiently to be let in.  
Apart from them, the street was deserted – if he ever had a window this would be it.

 

“I have a clear shot”, John whispered as he reached for his gun. But even before M could answer to affirm the kill, the door suddenly opened and a bunch of children stormed out. The rowdy, laughing bunch was taking their turn hugging John’s mark and John froze.

 

“Wait! There are kids around now” he rasped. This was not going well at all!  
There was a brief pause over the intercom, while John watched as his mark interacted with the kids and their parents who had just arrived at the doorstep.

 

_God, no._

 

“Take the shot.” M’s voice sounded calmly over the earpiece. Usually he didn’t need prompting.   
Pulling the trigger was his job after all, that’s why he was sent into the field.  
But this, this was not okay. This was so far away from being okay, everything inside of him cringed.

 

“I repeat, there are kids!” he hissed angrily. His gun was still in his hand, a heavy and uncomfortable reminder.

“What are you waiting for, 007? Take the bloody shot.” M ordered again, this time with a slight strain in his voice.

 

The party was about to enter the house, the children already safely inside and in a split second John had made his decision.

John adjusted his grip on his gun and inched forward, closer to his target. Soon a small clearing would come up, giving him a clean shot. He’d have to be quick after firing, if he still wanted to secure the drive and be on the move again.

 

Just when he was about to pull the trigger, a sudden force caused him to stumble backwards as something ripped through him.

There was a dull throbbing coming from his left shoulder and he took a ragged breath.

 

_Focus, John!_

Ignoring the throbbing for now he looked back up, trying to spot his target, but the moment had passed. They were already inside.

Cursing, John stepped back into the shadows, the throb coming in heavier now.

His right hand released the hold on the gun and he pressed it against the wet spot on his chest where the throbbing felt the strongest.

 

“What the hell?” he mumbled, suddenly feeling faintly dizzy.

His right hand was coloured in red when he brought it back up in front of his eyes.

Naturally, adrenaline was already cursing through his veins as he started swaying on the spot.

 

“What the hell is going on there?” M’s voice ripped through his slowly fogging mind.

 

_Good question,_ John thought. His breath was coming in harder now than it should and John had a hard time processing. Where was the blood coming from?

 

“I’ve been shot”, he finally answered, his voice soft with surprised realisation as his mind finally caught up. How could that have happened? He hadn’t even considered being a target _himself._

 

There was a brief silence over the intercom and he knew that M had swiftly cut the audio feed.

 

Red was slowly crawling over his white dress shirt and he made a weak attempt to cover it with his jacket. His fogged and adrenaline ridden mind worked incredibly slow, but there was a sudden flash.

_A sniper!_

 

There must have been a sniper, even if he couldn’t remember hearing a gunshot.

On impulse he stumbled to his right, out of any possible line of fire. Much too late, if they had wanted him dead, his mind supplied slowly, as he made his way away from the scene.

 

Falling into a light jog, he tried his best to stay covered as his body became increasingly numb and heavy. The throbbing of the gunshot wound was still muted but that wouldn’t hold forever. Turning the next corner he propped himself up against the wall, taking a moment to catch his breath and check his surroundings.

 

He couldn’t spot anyone who looked immediately suspicious, but that didn’t mean anything. John leaned heavy against the stonewall, feeling more and more drained with every passing second. He should hide…or at least move, but his legs felt so heavy and wouldn’t obey his command.

 

_I’m going into shock_ , John realised with a jolt. _I’m going into shock during an assault!_

 

Just as he tried to pull himself up again, his earpiece came back to life.

 

“007? A medical team has been dispatched. They will be with you shortly. So for once in your life: Stay. Put.” M’s voice was as level as ever, even if he stressed the last two words. Even through the haze of his mind, the last statement caused the agent to smirk.

 

John Watson had been with the MI-6 for a long time and M knew him better than any other living soul. After all, it had been M who had vetted and recruited him.

Always challenging authority had given John a hard time in the army, but M had given him something better by introducing him to the 00 program.

 

Despite himself, John trusted M and believed his judgement calls. Even if they hardly saw eye to eye, John always came back after a botched up mission, on his own terms and in his own time, but he came back.

 

“Thanks, but that won’t be necessary” John said, as he started fumbling with the earpiece. As fast as his numb body allows, he inches his way forward, winding through laneways and back alleys.

 

“Watson, don’t you dare!” M howled.

 

Just as he pulled the earpiece free he could hear “Not _again!”_ before he crushed the tiny thing under his heel. As fast as his injury allowed he made off into the approaching night.

 

He would need to get to safety, before his world would explode into hot boiling pain…


End file.
